Lesson 8: The Global City

Sociologist Saskia Sassen popularized the term “global city” in the 1990s. Her criteria for what constitutes a
global city were primarily economic. In her work, she initially identified three global cities: New York, London,
and Tokyo, all of which are hubs of global finance and capitalism.

They are the homes, for instance, of the world’s top stock exchanges where investors buy and sell shares in
major corporations. New York has the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), London has the Financial Times Stock
Exchange (FTSE), and Tokyo has the Nikkei.

Though it is not as wealthy as New York, movie-making mecca Los Angeles can now rival the Big Apple’s
cultural influence.

San Francisco must now factor in as another global city because it is the home of the most powerful internet---
Facebook, Twitter, and Google.

Finally, the growth of the Chinese economy has turned cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou into
centers of trade and finance. The Chinese government reopened the Shanghai Stock Exchange in late 1990,
and since then, it has grown to become the fifth largest stock market in the world.

Other consider some cities “global” simply because they are great places to live in. In Australia, Sydney
commands the greatest proportion of capital. However, Melbourne is described as Sydney’s rival “global city”
because many magazines and lists have now referred to it as the “world’s most livable city”---- a place with
good public transportation, a thriving cultural scene, and a relatively easy pace of life.

Indicators for Globality

Here are the multiple attributes of the global city:

1. Economic power
2. Market size
3. Purchasing power of citizens
4. Size of the middle class
5. Potential for growth

Global cities are also centers of authority. Washington D.C. may not be as wealthy as New York, but it is the
seat of American state power. People around the world know its major landmarks: the White House, the
Capitol Building (Congress), the Supreme Court, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.

Similarly, compared with Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra is a sleepy town and thus is not as attractive to
tourist. But as Australia’s political capital, it is home to the country’s top politicians, bureaucrats, and policy
advisors.

The cities that house major international organizations may also be considered centers of political influence.
The headquarters of the United Nations is in New York, and that of the European Union is in Brussels. An
influential political city near the Philippines is Jakarta, which is not just the capital of Indonesia, but also the
location of the main headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Finally, global cities are centers of higher learning and culture. A city’s intellectual influence is seen through
the influence of its publishing industry. Many of the books that people read are published in places like New
York, London, or Paris. The New York Times carries the name of New York City, but it is far from being a local
newspaper. People read it not just across America, but also all over the world. One of the reasons for the many
tourists visiting Boston is because they want to see Harvard University---the world’s top university.

Copenhagen is now considered one of the culinary capitals of the world, with its top restaurants
incommensurate with its size.

Today, global cities become culturally diverse. In a global city, one can try cuisines from different parts of the
world. Because of their large Turkish populations, for example, Berlin and Tokyo offer some of the best Turkish
food one can find outside of Turkey. Manila is not very global because of the lack of foreign residents, but
Singapore is, because it has a foreign population of 38%.

The Challenges of Global Cities

Global cities also have their undersides. They can be sites of great inequality and poverty as well as
tremendous violence. Global cities create winners and losers.

More importantly, because of the massive size of city populations across the world, it is not surprising that
urban areas consume most of the world’s energy. Cities only cover 2 percent of the world’s landmass, but they
consume 78 percent of global energy. Therefore, if carbon emissions must be cut to prevent global warming,
this massive energy consumption in cities must be limit. This action will require a lot of creativity. For example,
instead of transporting food products from many miles away before they get to major city centers through
trains, buses, and even planes that increases carbon emissions, why not cities build “vertical farms” in
abandoned buildings that may lead to environmentally sustainable cities. If more food can be grown with less
water in denser spaces, cities will begin to be greener.

The major terror attacks of recent years have also targeted cities. Cities, especially those with global influence,
are obvious target for terrorists due to their high populations and their role as symbols of globalization that
many terrorists dislike. The same characteristics that make them attractive to workers and migrants make
them sites of potential terrorist violence.

Gentrification – a phenomenon of driving out the poor in favor of newer, wealthier residents.

In the borders of New York and San Francisco are poor urban enclaves occupied by African-Americans and
Immigrant families who are often denied opportunities at a better life. Slowly, they are being forced to move
farther away from the economic centers of their cities. As a city attracts more capital and richer residents, real
estate prices go up and poor residents are forced to relocate to far away but cheaper areas.